Illinois Department of Revenue
Instructions for Form IL-W-4, Employee’s Illinois Withholding Allowance Certificate
Who must complete this form?
If you are an employee, you must
complete this form so your employer can
withhold the correct amount of Illinois
Income Tax from your pay. The amount
withheld from your pay depends, in part,
on the number of allowances you claim
on this form.
Even if you claimed exemption from
withholding on your federal Form W-4,
U.S. Employee’s Withholding Allowance
Certificate, because you do not expect
to owe any federal income tax, you may
be required to have Illinois Income Tax
withheld from your pay.
When must I file?
You must file Form IL-W-4 when Illinois
Income Tax is required to be withheld
from compensation that you receive as
an employee. You should complete this
form and give it to your employer on or
before the date you start working for
your employer. You may file a new Form
IL-W-4 any time your withholding allow-
ances increase. If the number of your
previously claimed allowances de-
creases, you must file a new Form
IL-W-4 within 10 days. However, the
death of a spouse or a dependent does
not affect your withholding allowances
until the next tax year.
What is an “exemption”?
An “exemption” is a dollar amount on
which you do not have to pay Illinois
Income Tax. Therefore, your employer
will withhold Illinois Income Tax based
on your compensation minus the
exemptions to which you are entitled.
What is an “allowance”?
The dollar amount that is exempt from
Illinois Income Tax is based on the
number of allowances you claim on this
form. As an employee, you receive one
allowance unless you are claimed as a
dependent on another person’s tax
return (e.g., your parents claim you as a
dependent on their tax return). If you are
married, you may claim additional
allowances for your spouse and any
dependents that you are entitled to
claim for federal income tax purposes.
You also will receive additional allow-
ances if you or your spouse are age 65
or older, or if you or your spouse are
legally blind.
How do I figure the correct
number of allowances?
Complete the worksheet on the back of
this page to figure the correct number of
allowances you are entitled to claim.
Give your completed Form IL-W-4 to
your employer. Keep the worksheet for
your records. If you claim more than 14
allowances, you must ask us for our
approval.
Note: If you have more than one job or
your spouse works, you should figure
the total number of allowances you are
entitled to claim. Your withholding usually
will be more accurate if you claim all of
your allowances on the Form IL-W-4 for
the highest-paying job and claim zero on
all of your other IL-W-4 forms.
What if I underpay my tax?
If the amount withheld from your com-
pensation is not enough to cover your
tax liability for the year, (e.g., you have
non-wage income, such as interest or
dividends), you may reduce the number
of allowances or request that your
employer withhold an additional amount
from your pay. Otherwise, you may owe
additional tax at the end of the year. If
you do not have enough tax withheld
from your pay, and you owe more than
$500 tax at the end of the year, you may
owe a late-payment penalty. You should
either increase the amount you have
withheld from your pay, or you must
make estimated tax payments.
You may be assessed a late-payment
penalty if your required estimated
payments are not paid in full by the due
dates.
Note: You may still owe this penalty for
an earlier quarter, even if you pay
enough tax later to make up the under-
payment from a previous quarter.
For additional information on penalties,
see Publication 103, Uniform Penalties
and Interest. Call 1 800 356-6302 to
receive a copy of this publication.
Where do I get help?
• Visit our Web site at www.ILtax.com
• Call our Taxpayer Assistance Division
at 1 800 732-8866 or 217 782-3336
• Call our TDD (telecommunications
device for the deaf) at 1 800 544-5304
• Write to
ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
PO BOX 19044
SPRINGFIELD IL 62794-9044
Illinois Withholding Allowance Worksheet
General Information If you have more than one job or your spouse works, you should
figure the total number of allowances you are entitled to claim. Your
Complete this worksheet to figure your total withholding allowances.
withholding usually will be more accurate if you claim all of your
Everyone must complete Part 1. allowances on the Form IL-W-4 for the highest-paying job and claim
Complete Part 2 if zero on all of your other IL-W-4 forms.
• you (or your spouse) are age 65 or older or legally blind, or You may reduce the number of allowances or request that your
• you wrote an amount on Line 4 of the Deductions and Adjust- employer withhold an additional amount from your pay, which may
ments Worksheet for federal Form W-4. help avoid having too little tax withheld.

Part 1: Figure your basic personal allowances (including allowances for dependents)
Check all that apply:
No one else can claim me as a dependent.
I can claim my spouse as a dependent.
1 Write the total number of boxes you checked. 1 _______________
2 Write the number of dependents (other than you or your spouse) you
will claim on your tax return. 2 _______________
3 Add Lines 1 and 2. Write the result. This is the total number of basic
personal allowances to which you are entitled. 3 _______________
4 If you want to have additional Illinois Income Tax withheld from your
pay, you may reduce the number of basic personal allowances or have
an additional amount withheld. Write the total number of basic personal
allowances you elect to claim on Line 4 and on Form IL-W-4, Line 1. 4 _______________

Part 2: Figure your additional allowances

Check all that apply:
I am 65 or older. I am legally blind.
My spouse is 65 or older. My spouse is legally blind.
5 Write the total number of boxes you checked. 5 _______________
6 Write any amount that you reported on Line 4 of the Deductions and Adjustments
Worksheet for federal Form W-4. 6 _______________
7 Divide Line 6 by 1,000. Round to the nearest whole number. Write the result on Line 7. 7 _______________
8 Add Lines 5 and 7. Write the result. This is the total number of additional allowances
to which you are entitled. 8 _______________
9 If you want to have additional Illinois Income Tax withheld from your pay, you may reduce
the number of additional allowances or have an additional amount withheld. Write the total
number of additional allowances you elect to claim on Line 9 and on Form IL-W-4, Line 2. 9 _______________

Note: If you have non-wage income and you expect to owe Illinois Income Tax on that income, you may choose to have an additional amount
withheld from your pay. On Line 3 of Form IL-W-4, write the additional amount you want your employer to withhold.

Cut here and give the certificate to your employer. Keep the top portion for your records.

Illinois Department of Revenue

IL-W-4 Employee’s Illinois Withholding Allowance Certificate
1 Write the total number of basic allowances that you
____ ____ ____ - ____ ____ - ____ ____ ____ ____ are claiming (Part 1, Line 4, of the worksheet). 1 _________________
Social Security number 2 Write the total number of additional allowances that
________________________________________________________________________ you are claiming (Part 2, Line 9, of the worksheet). 2 _________________
Name 3 Write the additional amount you want withheld
________________________________________________________________________ (deducted) from each pay. 3 _________________
Street address I certify that I am entitled to the number of withholding allowances claimed on
this certificate.
________________________________________________________________________
City State ZIP ______________________________________________________________________________
Your signature Date
Employer: Keep this certificate with your records. If you have referred the employee’s
This form is authorized as outlined by the Illinois Income Tax Act. Disclosure of this information federal certificate to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the IRS has notified you to
is REQUIRED. Failure to provide information could result in a penalty. This form has been disregard it, you may also be required to disregard this certificate. Even if you are not
approved by the Forms Management Center. IL-492-0039
required to refer the employee’s federal certificate to the IRS, you may still be required to
refer this certificate to the Illinois Department of Revenue for inspection. See Illinois
Income Tax Regulations 86 Ill. Adm. Code 100.7110.
IL-W-4 (R-12/02)